The short version
- Para points forward: a purpose, a destination, a person something is for, a deadline.
- Por looks back or through: a reason, a route, an exchange, a way of doing something.
- Many uses of por are fixed phrases like por favor, por fin and por eso. Learn those whole and there's less to decide.
Gracias por el regalo (thanks for the present). Este regalo es para ti (this present is for you). Both have "for" in English, but Spanish uses two different words. That's why por vs para trips up almost every English speaker at some point.
The usual approach is a list of ten uses for each. You can learn those, but it's hard to run through twenty rules in the middle of a sentence.
This post gives you one simple idea that covers most cases, the main uses to know, and a handful of fixed phrases that mean you don't have to choose at all.
The short answer
Where it's going
A purpose, a goal, a destination, the person who receives something, a deadline. It points forward.
Where it came from or went through
A reason or cause, a route, an exchange, a means, a period of the day. It looks back or through.
Think of para as an arrow pointing at a target. Estudio español para hablar con mis vecinos: the goal is talking to your neighbours.
Think of por as the reason behind something, or the thing it passes through. Estudio español por mi pareja: your partner is the reason you're doing it.
When to use para
| Use | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose (+ verb) | Ahorro para comprar un coche. | I'm saving to buy a car. |
| Who it's for | Este café es para ti. | This coffee is for you. |
| Destination | Mañana salgo para Madrid. | Tomorrow I'm leaving for Madrid. |
| Deadline | Lo necesito para el lunes. | I need it by Monday. |
| Opinion | Para mí, es demasiado caro. | For me, it's too expensive. |
| What something is used for | Es un cuchillo para el pan. | It's a bread knife. |
The purpose one is the most useful. Whenever you'd say "to" or "in order to" in English before a verb, it's usually para: Te llamo para preguntarte una cosa (I'm calling to ask you something). The exception is after verbs of movement like ir and venir, which take a: Vengo a ayudarte (I've come to help you).
When to use por
| Use | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| Reason or cause | Llegué tarde por el tráfico. | I was late because of the traffic. |
| Through or along | Paseamos por el parque. | We walked through the park. |
| Around somewhere | ¿Hay un cajero por aquí? | Is there a cash machine around here? |
| Exchange or price | Lo compré por veinte euros. | I bought it for twenty euros. |
| Means | Te lo mando por WhatsApp. | I'll send it to you on WhatsApp. |
| Part of the day | Trabajo por la mañana. | I work in the morning. |
| Per | Voy al gimnasio dos veces por semana. | I go to the gym twice a week. |
| Thanks | Gracias por todo. | Thanks for everything. |
Gracias por always takes por, because you're thanking someone for something that's already happened. That's the "looking back" idea again.
These are the normal way to say "in the morning", "in the afternoon" and "at night" in Spain. With a specific time, it changes: a las ocho de la mañana. You'll also hear en la mañana in Latin America, but in Spain it's por.
Pairs that change meaning
Sometimes both work, but they mean different things. These are good to learn as pairs, because they show the difference clearly.
| With por | With para | |
|---|---|---|
| Lo hago… | Lo hago por ti. (I'm doing it because of you / on your behalf.) | Lo hago para ti. (I'm making it for you, as a present.) |
| Trabajo… | Trabajo por mi hermano. (I'm covering for my brother.) | Trabajo para mi hermano. (My brother is my boss.) |
| Salgo… | Salgo por la puerta de atrás. (I'm going out through the back door.) | Salgo para Sevilla. (I'm leaving for Seville.) |
| …mí | Por mí, vale. (Fine by me.) | Para mí, es un error. (In my opinion, it's a mistake.) |
The last pair is really handy in conversation. Por mí, vale or por mí, perfecto is how you say you don't mind. Para mí… is how you start giving your opinion.
Learn these as whole phrases
A lot of por comes in fixed phrases. You don't need to understand why they use por. Just learn them like you'd learn a single word, and you've taken a lot of decisions away.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| por favor | please |
| por fin | at last |
| por cierto | by the way |
| por eso | that's why |
| por ejemplo | for example |
| por supuesto | of course |
| por si acaso | just in case |
| por lo menos | at least |
These come up constantly. Por cierto is a great way to change the subject, por si acaso is very common in Spain (Llévate un paraguas, por si acaso), and por eso lets you explain yourself: Vivo lejos, por eso llego tarde.
Spanish has two different questions where English often uses one. ¿Por qué? asks why, looking for a reason. ¿Para qué? asks what for, looking for a purpose. Pick five things you do, and answer both questions out loud for each. ¿Por qué estudias español? Porque vivo en Valencia. ¿Para qué? Para hablar con mis vecinos. If your sentence answers "why?", it's usually por. If it answers "what for?", it's usually para. After a week of this you'll start to feel the difference without thinking about rules.
Common mistakes
Estudio español por hablar con la gente.
Estudio español para hablar con la gente. A purpose before a verb uses para.
Gracias para todo.
Gracias por todo. Thanks always takes por.
Paseo para el parque.
Paseo por el parque. Moving through a place uses por.
Lo necesito por el viernes.
Lo necesito para el viernes. A deadline uses para.
Stopping mid-sentence to work out which one.
Pick one and keep going. People will understand, and practice will sort it out.
That last one matters most. Getting por and para wrong almost never stops someone understanding you. If you've read ser vs estar, made simple, it's the same advice: have your own sentences ready so you don't need the rule, and keep talking if you get it wrong.
The same goes for other bits of Spanish that don't match English, like the ones in tener expressions you'll use every day. They're easiest to learn inside real sentences you'll actually say.
Recap
- Para points forward: purpose, destination, who it's for, deadlines, opinions.
- Por looks back or through: reasons, routes, exchanges, means, parts of the day.
- Some pairs change meaning, like lo hago por ti and lo hago para ti.
- Learn the fixed phrases whole: por favor, por fin, por eso, por si acaso.
- If a sentence answers "why?", think por. If it answers "what for?", think para.
In 100 Spanish Conversations, por and para come up inside the conversations themselves, so you learn para ir al trabajo and por la mañana in sentences about your own life. If you're not sure about a sentence, post it in the community on Skool and someone will take a look.
Leeroy studied Spanish for years before moving to Spain and finding he couldn't hold a conversation. He built Basically Spanish around the method that fixed it. Questions? leeroy@basicallyspanish.com